“The United States is a sovereign country, and we have a sovereign right to protect our border,” said Rubio. “The Republican Border Surge Plan is based on ideas border patrol agents and others know to be effective and that conservatives have been pursuing for many years. They’re ideas based on the state of the art technologies available to us today that weren’t around in 1986, 1996 or even 2006.

“Together, these technologies will help us see who is coming across our border. The fence will make it harder for drugs and people to illegally cross. The increased manpower will make sure we apprehend those who cross. The E-Verify system will make sure that there is no future for those who live in our country illegally,” said Rubio. “This is what’s needed to secure our border, end de facto amnesty and prevent a repeat of the disaster we have today.”

The amendment stipulates that no illegal immigrant can apply to become a legal permanent resident of the U.S. until at least ten years have elapsed and until five security triggers are achieved. These triggers include the completion of at least 700 miles of secure pedestrian fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border, doubling the number of border patrol agents with 20,000 new border patrol agents, and providing all nine sectors of the southern border with the state of the art technology and resources our border patrol agents need to secure the border, including unarmed drones, camera systems, ground sensors and radars, among other resources. To eliminate the job magnet that attracts most illegal immigrants to the U.S., E-Verify must be completely implemented and mandatory for all U.S. businesses. And to crack down on foreigners who overstay their visas – which accounts for 40 percent of today’s illegal immigrant population – an entry-exit system must be completely implemented.

The U.S. Senate must improve the border security provisions in its immigration bill to give the American people confidence that we will not have future waves of illegal immigration. The newly introduced Republican “Border Surge” Amendment improves border security by removing responsibility from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to develop a border security and fencing plan and instead mandates precisely what must be done to secure the U.S. border with Mexico before any illegal immigrant can become an American citizen, or even a permanent resident of the U.S. This amendment was drafted with input from border patrol officials, border state officials, security experts, and members of the U.S. House of Representatives.

This amendment stipulates that illegal immigrants cannot apply to become a legal permanent resident of the U.S., until at least ten years have elapsed and until all of the following measures are implemented:

The completion of at least 700 miles of secure pedestrian fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Doubling the number of border patrol agents with 20,000 new border patrol agents.

To eliminate the job magnet that attracts most illegal immigrants to the U.S., E-Verify must be completely implemented and mandatory for all U.S. businesses.

To crack down on foreigners who overstay their visas – which accounts for 40 percent of today’s illegal immigrant population – an entry-exit system must be completely implemented.

Providing all nine sectors of the Southwestern Border with the state of the art technology and resources our border patrol agents need to secure the border, including but not limited to the following: